On Feb 8, 10:25 am, (Arch) wrote:
I read and hear a lot these days that the ability to produce turned wood
fine art is not an inborn talent and anyone can do it.

Hey... how do you think I got here?

Sorry rcw friends, Please forgive me. I'm too overcome to describe this
paragon, this icon of perfection just now. Actually I haven't made it
yet because Lori insists that I turn off rcw and take out the garbage. I
know you fellow artists will understand. For everyone else, there's
craft.

Amen. A day in the life, eh Arch?

I have also suffered at the hands of lost artistry, trying from time
to time to create "my form" or to express "my voice" on the lathe.
But... with thousands of years of concentric or slightly non
concentric vessels, bowls, vases, boxes, cooking utensils, mallets,
ornamentations, jugs, bottles, treenware, cups, platters, plates,
storage containers, etc., it is hard to be truly original on the
lathe.

My artistic voice is one in the crowd and sometimes it seems like I
have seen the finished shape I have turned somewhere else.

But good sir, I have found something that satisfies my artistic bent
on two levels. One being the tragic inability to appreciate my own
work (ahem... a joke here for those not getting it) which leads to
tragedy. Like the French, it is almost better to lose you fight and
enjoy the romantic recollections of being "the little engine that
almost could" rather than to win.

So when I turn something out of a piece of dried hardwood that is
almost what I want, but not quite, I destroy it before finishing. I
was inspired to do this by a really great bio on Van Gogh, one that
said he used to suffer mental illnesses so badly that he ate his own
paint from time to time. In this bio they said they had to take his
paintings away from him as he was wont to destroy them after they were
finished.

I am trying to follow in his footsteps. Sadly, that means all of my
great art MAY have been burned. As to the quality of the pieces, I
guess I'll never know.

However, the second benefit (remember, there were a couple) is that
with certain woods, they add a lot to the smoker while it is going.
So while a pork shoulder or brisket is rendering away on the cooker, I
can relish the joy/pain/sorrow/romance of knowing that destroying my
work is in some way contributing to the well being of others, while
staying confused about "my direction" or its meaning.

Doing this, I can enjoy the angst of not finding my voice,
but I can get some good barbecue when it is all said and done.

;^)

Robert